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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27906265">Revelry in the Light, Shadows in the Dark</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Wolves_Howl_At_Dawn/pseuds/The_Wolves_Howl_At_Dawn'>The_Wolves_Howl_At_Dawn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Dreamtale (Undertale), Angry Dreamtale Sans | Dream (Undertale), Don't Like Don't Read, Dream isnt the rapist, DreamMare - Freeform, Dreamtale Nightmare Sans/Dreamtale Sans | Dream (Undertale), Dreamtale Sans | Dream (Undertale), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I hurt nightmare, I hurt nightmare a LOT, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Protective Dreamtale Sans | Dream (Undertale), Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery, Rape/Non-con Elements, Villagers are assholes, Whump, why isnt that a tag</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:21:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,137</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27906265</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Wolves_Howl_At_Dawn/pseuds/The_Wolves_Howl_At_Dawn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What if the villagers did more than just throw things at Nightmare? What if they took it further? What happens when Dream finds him after an unwilling night spent with the villagers?</p><p>Honestly, this is an excuse to write some hard whump about this topic since as far as I've seen no one else has. Changed the description a bit.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dream/Nightmare - Relationship, Nightmare!Sans/Dream!Sans, Sans &amp; Sans (Undertale), Sans/Sans (Undertale)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>144</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I had an idea based on some comics I saw on Twitter. I told my friends about it and they liked it too. So I got whatever ambition I had and wrote this with my lovely friends helping edit it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was well past midnight, Dream mused. He was growing concerned; he and Nightmare had promised to meet up by the tree at midnight so that Nightmare could teach him more about the stars and constellations, but he was nowhere to be seen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> It was concerning, and it would be 2 am soon judging by where the moon was in the sky. Dream sighed, a little worried, and stood up from the tree, deciding to go look for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He searched the surrounding area first, remembering all the times that the other skeleton would be late because he'd fallen asleep against a tree. Dream grimaced as he checked every nook and cranny of the surrounding forest, not finding a single magic trace of Nightmare. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Standing up and brushing the dirt off his pants once again, Dream set off for the Library next, knowing that his tree-chosen brother loved books and likely could've fallen asleep while reading.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Arriving at the library, he harshly swung the large doors open and darted inside, leaving the heavy doors of the entrance to swing shut behind him with an echoing slam. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His golden eye-lights flickered around the library quickly, taking in every detail they could latch onto as they adjusted to the darkness of the light-devoid library. The guardian of positivity swiftly moved from one row of bookshelves to the next, checking everywhere for his fellow guardian.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Panic was slowly rising and gripping his soul, he could feel bile rising up and burning his throat from his ever-growing anxiety.  Maybe he was wrong? Maybe Nightmare was back at their joined house? Maybe he'd simply just forgotten about their promise. There was no need to worry. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream left the library, trying his best to calm himself down. Still, though, he sprinted towards their home despite himself. . He didn't hesitate to throw the door open as he arrived, barely flinching when it rebounded off the wall with a loud, silence-shattering 'BANG!'. He was too busy searching for his dear friend to care about a dent in the wall. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream rushed down the hall and practically blasted Nightmares door open with his unprecedented strength. His soul was beating frantically, a mile a minute, hoping desperately that he would see his guardian brother fine and well in his bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Though, his soul plummeted, and he nearly collapsed when he observed that, no, Nightmare wasn't there either. The room was empty, devoid of life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream shook his head, ridding his brain of its horrifying thoughts. No! He couldn't give up yet, Nightmare had to be here somewhere! With that thought in mind, Dream swiftly turned around, slamming his own door open, nearly growling in poorly suppressed fear when he saw no one there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He ran from room to room pushing and shoving doors open, checking closets, even looking under the beds in his search for the guardian of negativity. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, he stood panting in the living room, the rest of the house in disarray. Dream's legs gave out, sending him crashing to the floor. He sniffled, beginning to tear up as panic mounted once again. He shook his head and forced himself to his feet, stumbling to the door, gripping the doorframe, and wiping away any tears that had formed. No, he wasn't giving up, not yet. Not without knowing that Nightmare was safe. Nightmare was out there, and Dream was going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>find him</span>
  </em>
  <span>, even if he had to look all night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rushing out of the house, his soul was panging with panic and determination. He dashed through the streets of the down, gasping and panting, his bones aching from the constant strain as his shoes slammed on the ground. He passed by what seemed like millions —perhaps even more— of doors, stalls and buildings before he started to feel the burn in his throat from his ever-growing exhaustion. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was about ready to give up when he heard the slightest, smallest hint of a pain-stricken whimper from a nearby alleyway as he ran past it. The noise was so light and airy, that Dream wondered for a moment whether or not he had actually heard it. However, it was the absolute disdain and agony that the whimper had been filled with that pushed him to peer into the dark and haunting corridor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream’s shoes squeaked and ground from the sudden strain placed upon them by his frantic attempt to stop, nearly tripping on the road trying to double back to the alley.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Dream sprinted into the alley with a ferocity he didn’t know he was capable of, before stopping dead right in his tracks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There, barely visible in the fading moonlight, was Nightmare. The small skeleton was crumpled in a heap, chest heaving with quiet sobs, as if he were trying not to attract any more attention.  He was clutching his arms in a bruising grip, his clothes torn, strewn, and painted with small splatters of nearly dried blood. Fresh dark purple bruises and cuts littered his ivory bones, red, tantalizing blood slowly trickling out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But that wasn't what made Dream halt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No, what stopped him was the sight of the oh-so prevalent, red gushy blood mixed with what seemed to be a white, creamy substance…  seeping from between the smaller skeletons closed, shaking legs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dreams' eye lights became unnaturally dark. Chilling, pain-filled horror washed over him instantaneously, quickly followed by pure, unrestrained, white-hot </span>
  <b>
    <em>rage</em>
  </b>
  <span> that raced down his spine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Someone had touched Nightmare.  Someone had seen Nightmare, had made him struggle against them, had made the decision to break into his personal boundaries, had </span>
  <em>
    <span>chosen</span>
  </em>
  <span> to gift him with what he would describe as the most despicable and unforgivable act. They had made all these decisions consciously. They had hurt him, so </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking</span>
  </em>
  <span> badly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Someone had raped Nightmare.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And going off of the look of everything, with the amount of damage done to his body, and the amount of </span>
  <em>
    <span>disgusting</span>
  </em>
  <span>, dirty semen dripping out from between Nightmare's abused, beaten legs, it was more than just one person.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream was gonna find the ones who did this, and he was going to make them </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somewhere in the darkest parts of Dream’s mind- he wondered offhandedly what it would be like to have Nightmare’s offenders under him, screaming and begging and crying with their disgusting, watery snot running out of their noses. Pleading with their vile mouths to not be met with the same fate they had bestowed upon Nightmare. And he would not— he could not spare them. He would enjoy watching their so-called innocence, their will to go on, drain from their faces He would give them all a taste of their own medicine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream hastily snapped out of the haze of anger that had been clouding his mind once he remembered where he was and dashed forward, knees sliding on the ground, his </span>
  <span>bones getting scratched and his clothes scuffing </span>
  <span>as he skid to a stop in front of his best friend, hands hovering but never touching him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> “N-Nightmare...” He started before stopping, desperately searching for the words he needed. “C-Can I… A-Are you ok with me touching you?” Dream asked, his voice trembling with worry and poorly contained rage. Nightmare flinched at the sound, but his head snapped up when he realized it was Dream, revealing his tear-stained and bruised face, his purple eye lights locking onto Dream’s kneeling form.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> “Dream!” He shouted, voice cracking and breaking as he launched himself at his fellow guardian with whatever strength was left in him, clutching the front of his robes and sobbing openly, his whole body shaking with effort. “D-Dream, th-they-..!” Nightmare cut himself off with another choked up wail, burying his face into the older skeleton’s shoulder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream, who had frozen the moment Nightmare had thrown himself into his arms, quickly reacted, shushing the sobbing guardian and gently rubbing his hand along his back, “Shh... You’re safe now, Nightmare...” He murmured, eye lights trained ahead, glaring holes into the wall behind Nightmare as he worked to ignore the stench of blood and other bodily fluids and focus on his tree-chosen brother who was now in desperate need of comforting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dream sighed softly after roughly 10 minutes had passed, and shifted Nightmare slightly, jostling the almost asleep skeleton into a state of semi-consciousness, “...Dream..?” He murmured, hands still fisted in the other skeleton’s clothing. Dream smiled down at him before taking off his golden cape and swiftly wrapping it around Nightmare’s still shaking body. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m still here, Night. I’m going to try to move you, is that ok?” Dream asked, staring into Nightmare’s eye lights, not wanting to accidentally hurt him more. The abused skeleton shakily nodded, and with that, Dream swiftly hooked one arm under Nightmare’s knees and the other behind his upper back for support, before slowly rising to a fully upright position, taking a second to adjust his grip on Nightmare. “Does this hurt at all?” He asked worriedly when Nightmare sighed, and while he shook his head no, Dream allowed his golden eye lights to dart around his friends’ face to check for any signs of discomfort in case he was lying, and relaxed when he found none. With that, Dream turned around and began the slow walk out of the dirty alleyway and back towards their home, careful to not jostle Nightmare’s injuries along the way.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This chapter is unedited/unbeta'd!! My editors are taking a well-deserved break.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The walk was long and silent, with the exception of the occasional whimper from nightmare, all of which were quickly shushed by Dream, who would lovingly rub the younger’s skull. The duo finally arrived at their shared house, Dream gently nudging the abused door open and walking in, gently kicking it shut behind him before walking through the walls, disregarding the overturned and destroyed furniture as he made his way to his room. </p><p>Dream gently laid the guardian of negativity down in the bed, before  moving to gather towels. He stopped when he felt a hand weakly grab at his clothes. “D..ream..? Whe..re..?” Nightmare’s voice was shaky, and sounded distressed, and Dream quickly turned around to console his fretting charge. “It’s ok, Nightmare. I’m only going to grab some supplies to clean you up with ok?” He waited patiently, his gold eye lights trained on the smaller skeleton’s face and smiling when he nodded slowly, releasing his grip on Dream’s clothes. </p><p>Dream quickly fled the room, dashing down the hall to ransack the already destroyed rooms for towels, water, and the strange healing gel Nightmare had made months ago. He gathered this all, seemingly calm when mentally, he was desperately scraping together any knowledge he had on cleaning wounds. Before he returned to the room, he quickly grabbed some ice from the freezer and placed it in one of the dry towels, along with a bowl of soapy water. </p><p>He returned to the room, his arms loaded with towels. He moved quickly, rousing Nightmare from his sleepy daze, “C’mon brother, lift your legs.” Dream encouraged, rubbing gentle circles on the edge of his femurs. Nightmare whimpered and, shaking with the strain of it, lifted himself up enough for Dream to slide a few of the towels under him. </p><p>Nightmare flopped back down with a pained hiss, looking up at Dream with hazy eye sockets, curiously observing his actions. Dream swiftly grabbed one of the small washrags and dipped it into the soapy water mix, wringing it out before turning back to his brother, keeping his golden eye lights trained on Nightmare’s face as he began to gently dab at the cuts scattered across his forearms.</p><p> Nightmare winced at the stinging sensation, wanting to tense up, but forced himself to relax, knowing that tensing up and squirming would only make the pain worse. The older of the two continued to clean his arms, moving from there to his hands, from his hands to his feet, and from his feet to his legs, slowly cleaning every cut, and washing the rag when it began to get dirty. </p><p>Once he got to Nightmare’s inner leg, however, he stopped, and glanced up at the guardian of negativity, “Nightmare… In.... in order to make sure you heal properly...I-I… I need to clean down...there...” He murmured, feeling embarrassed and ashamed for some reason. Nightmare’s purple eye lights shrunk slightly, and a shudder ran through his body as a faint purple blush settled upon his cheekbones, before he nodded his head in silent permission. </p><p>It was a surprise that he could even feel embarrassed in this situation. Dream mentally brushed that thought aside, focusing on re-wetting the towel before shifting forward, nudging the smaller skeleton’s legs apart. He gently dragged the rag across Nightmare’s inner legs, careful not to irritate the wounds any more than they already were. He stopped and took a shaky breath in, closing his eye sockets as he steeled himself for what came next.</p><p>Dream opened them, and looked ahead of him at the smaller skeleton’s abused pelvis, slowly bringing the wet rag up to gently clean at the top of his hips. He ignored the flaming heat on his cheekbones, already sure that his face was glowing gold. He glanced up at Nightmare’s face as he slowly cleaned down the crest of his hip and immediately snapped his gaze back down to what he was working on, his grip on his brother’s femur tightening for a split second. </p><p>Nightmare’s face was flushed a deep royal purple, the color matching with his half-lidded amethyst eye lights, which glowed faintly as they stayed trained on the guardian of positivity, his teeth grit together. The larger skeleton could feel his blush darken a little and he hesitated, the hand holding the rag stilling near the beginning of Nightmare’s pubic arch, hearing the smaller skeleton’s breath hitch. Nightmare’s pelvis had started glowing slightly, highlighting his hips and glowing brightest at his pubic arch. Dream silently wondered how he didn’t notice the glow before.</p><p>He allowed his eyes to drift back up to his brother’s face, taking in the dark blush staining his skull, purple eye lights locked onto Dream’s hands. Dream took in a shuddering breath, and looked back down, beginning to ever so gently clean the grime and semen that clung to Nightmare’s entrance. He could feel the smaller skeleton’s magic spike before being retrained, could feel his entire body shudder at the touch, could feel as his legs tensed up at the foreign feeling. </p><p>Dream hummed quietly, his blush darkening as the hand not holding the rag began rubbing soothing circles against the leg it was braced against. He worked carefully, ignoring how his brother’s breathing would hitch in a mixture of pain and faint pleasure, ignoring every twitch and jolt of his body, focusing only on cleaning the cuts littering the once-ivory pelvis and washing away any traces left of the ones who did this, and slowly, his blush faded. </p><p>Dream heaved another shaky breath, unwilling to even look at his ward, “I-... I need to clean inside now...” He mumbled, his voice trembling slightly. He felt Night’s magic pulse in response, a silent acknowledgment saying that he could go ahead. Dream felt his blush return full force as he used two fingers to press the rag up and between the smaller skeleton’s pubic arch, feeling a rush of magic from his sibling which he quickly intercepted with his own, using his own magic to soothe his brother’s, unwilling to let his ecto-body form. </p><p>Nightmare whimpered once again, this one slightly louder than the previous noises he'd been making and tinted with pleasure, his legs parting slightly. Dream flushed and quickly finished wiping the insides of his pelvis, removing the rag and his fingers quickly afterward, backing away swiftly. Nightmare made a noise of displeasure, twitching slightly before realizing just what he’d been doing and to whom and snapping his legs shut.</p><p>The kneeling skeleton sighed shakily, standing up with the bowl of dirty water in one hand and the rag in the other. He swiftly turned and left after promising he’d return, going to the kitchen to empty the bowl, wringing out the rag and hanging it up to dry before moving to the bathroom. The bathroom itself was rather grand, and the bathtub was large enough to fit both him and Nightmare with room to spare. </p><p>The elder guardian quickly turned on the water, waiting for the water to heat up and adjusting the knobs until it was the right temperature. He placed the plug in the drain and let the water fill the tub. Dream turned and left, winding his way around the house and back to the room that Nightmare was in. He gently knocked on the wall before walking in to alert Nightmare that he was there. “Hey Nighty, I’ve drawn up a bath for you so you can clean yourself up.” </p><p>Nightmare stared at him for a moment before weakly smiling and hold his shaking arms out to him in a silent request. Dream, of course, obliged, scooping Nightmare up in his arms and carrying him around the house and to the bathroom, turning off the running water when he got there, the bath sufficiently full. He set Nightmare down on the edge, kneeling down so that he was skull to skull with his ward, “Do you need my help undressing, or will you be fine on your own?” He asked softly, golden eye lights searching purple eye lights. </p><p>Nightmare paused before opening his mouth, “I-... I can d-do it… o-on my o-own,” He finally got out, his voice scratchy and raw from what had happened <em>before</em>, “C-....Can you s-stay..?” He asked back, peering at Dream innocently, a purple flush painting his cheekbones. Dream smiled softly and nodded, turning around to give the guardian of negativity some privacy to undress.</p><p>The bathroom was silent aside from the rustling of clothes sliding off bones and hitting the ground. It must be excruciating, Dream realized, to move about with all the injuries he’d sustained. But Dream would not help, no matter how much he wanted to. He knew that Nightmare was strong, knew that he needed to do this on his own if not to prove to Dream that he could, but rather prove to himself that he could. </p><p>Finally, the final bits of clothing hit the ground, and he could hear his brother sigh softly as he dipped himself into the water, slowly but surely submerging himself. Dream let him soak for a moment before speaking, “Night, do you want me to stay like this, or do you want help washing up?” His voice was still soft with concern, not wanting to keep his back turned on his injured ward on the off-chance that he passed out.</p><p>Nightmare was silent behind him for a few beats before he spoke back, voice still scratchy but being soothed slightly by the steam in the air, “Y-You...c..an turn back….a-around...” He voiced quietly, the assent causing Dream to relax again as he turned around and moved to scoot towards the tub, grabbing the small stool and sitting on it, feeling purple eye lights on him the whole time. Finally, he situated himself by the tub and let his golden eye lights meet the others.</p><p>He realized with a start that Nightmare’s eyes seemed less cloudy, much more focused now in comparison to when Dream first found him. He also realized that Nightmare was examining his clothes with a critical eye before his expression filled with guilt. “Your... c-clothes are c-covered in dirt...” He mumbled, noticing the much darker brownish stains; marks from his blood, “S-Sorry...” He felt a shiver run through him, feeling a growing sense of self-hatred as he realized that those stains and marks must have come from Dream carrying him.</p><p>Dream saw this, felt the negative emotions growing, and smiled softly at his brother, “It’s ok Nightmare, it’s not your fault.” He spoke gently, safely, golden eye lights filled with so much love and affection and care that Nightmare couldn’t fight down the blush that grew on his face, turning away from the guardian of positivity; it was like looking at a miniature sun when Dream looked at him like that.</p><p>Nightmare turned back around to look at Dream, watching as the larger skeleton let his smile grow into a grin, softly clapping his skeletal hands together with enthusiasm, “Now, let’s get you fully cleaned up!” The guardian of negativity couldn’t help the shy grin that grew on his own face in response, the dark feelings fading as he began to relax once more.</p><p> </p><p>He was damaged, Nightmare knew this. He knew that recovery was probably going to take a while. He knew he’d probably never be the same again.</p><p> </p><p>But, he thought, listening to his brother ramble on about one subject or another as he helped Nightmare wash up, he’d be fine. So long as he had Dream, he’d be okay.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'm not 100% sure if I'm gonna be adding another chapter, so I'm leaving the total chapter number as '?'. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!</p><p> </p><p>Extra: Little interactions/notes from the doc:</p><p>N - “We need to have all the essential standards done before our test which is on-” pauses to check “-next Thursday. Yeah we’re done for today” - My Alg II teacher</p><p>N - “The kids are fast, but big bird is faster.” - My friend </p><p>12/9/2020 at 9:26 am: N - WE’RE ALMOST AT 3K WORDS IGNORING ALL MY NOTES DOWN HERE.</p><p>A- FARTS i’m reading it</p><p>A is one of my editors and I love her more than life itself</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This is unbeta'd! Both my writers are currently busy with another project of their own, so sorry if some parts are repetitive or look wrong in general.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Nightmare sighed as he sunk lower into the tub, enjoying how the heat from the water seeped into his cold bones, lulling him into a state of pure bliss. He let out a sound that closely resembled a purr when he felt Dream’s fingers gently rub against his skull, leaning into the touch with an inaudible sigh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dream smiled at how relaxed his ward looked, but the smile quickly shifted into a frown of disapproval when he realized how dirty the water had become during the soak. He gently tapped his brother on his shoulder, gaining his attention after a moment, “You should probably get out now,” He suggested softly, gesturing to the dirty water. Nightmare slowly nodded in understanding, making Dream smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here.” Dream shifted, opening the cabinet under the sink and pulling out some towels, laying one on the ground and placing the other two by the tub, “I’ll turn around while you dry off. Just call my name if you need my help.” With that, he turned around, staring resolutely at the door. He could hear the water splashing around the tub as his brother presumably stood up. The sound of water dripping on tile confirmed that thought, followed by the sound of the towels unraveling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nightmare was quiet for a good while before he finally spoke up, sounding more than just a little tired. “D-Dream? C-Can you help me d-dry my back?” He asked shyly. Dream nodded and turned back around, gently taking the towel Nightmare was offering him. “Turn around please,” Dream requested, smiling when the other guardian did so. Standing up, He began to gently clean the other skeleton’s spine, starting up near the base of his skull, being ever so careful to not get the towel caught in between his vertebrae. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He slowly made his way down his brother’s spine, cleaning every vertebrae separately, dabbing at the ridges and divots of the ivory bones. The guardian of positivity continued this method all the way down his brother’s spine and kneeled to clean the little nub of his Sacral. He reached out and began gently wiping the bone clean of muck and grime, only to freeze when Nightmare let out a whimper. Dream glanced up at him, worried for a second that he’d hurt him, and realized with a start that the guardian of negativity was blushing heavily. Oh. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nightmare’s Sacral was sensitive. That’s why he’d made that noise. Dream flushed, realizing how awkward the situation was about to become. “S-Sorry Nightmare, j-just a little more and you’ll be dry.” He stuttered out, pressing the towel back to the bones and swiftly drying it off,  seeing Nightmare’s legs twitch out of the corner of his eye with every movement of the towel, hearing Nightmare’s little noises become muffled, the other guardian having taken the second towel and shoved his face into it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dream pulled the towel away once he was sufficiently dry and backed up, hiding his face in his hands as he blushed a brilliant gold. He peaked up between his fingers and smiled with a tint of worry, blush fading as he realized that, in the time that he was spending having a mini breakdown, Nightmare had managed to put on one of the robes and was now sitting on the stool that Dream previously occupied. His fellow guardian’s purple blush had long-since faded again. The smaller skeleton was staring at him, an inquisitive look in his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dream blinked in confusion before finally speaking, light confusion curling around his words with an undertone of worry, “Why are you staring at me like that?” He asked softly, the confusion growing as his ward merely looked down meaningfully at his body and then back up to Dream. Dream continued to stare at him before it all clicked in his mind, the confusion blowing away and being replaced with heavy embarrassment, “You want me to carry you back to the room, is that it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nightmare let a small smile bloom on his skull as he slowly nodded, reaching out to Dream with shaky, unsteady arms. Dream scooted forward, gently hooking an arm under the other’s rear and securing his other arm behind Nightmare’s back. The skeleton carefully stood up, adjusting his ward in his arms and walking over to the door. Dream gently opened the door, nudging it shut behind them before setting off towards the bedroom. He very resolutely ignored the trashed rooms they passed along the way, feeling faint pinpricks of embarrassment that were swiftly swept away by a tidal wave of suppressed rage when he remembered the state he’d found Nightmare in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Arriving at the bedroom, Dream used his foot to nudge the door open, making his way to the bed and setting Nightmare down on it. He swiftly pulled the covers over the smaller skeleton after adjusting the pillows to provide support for his injured limbs. He stepped back for a second, observing the setup, noting how his brother seemed to be shaking under the thin blanket, before speaking. “Do you think you’ll need another blanket, or will that one be enough?” He asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nightmare shifted slightly and nodded. The guardian of positivity stared at him expectantly, laughing quietly under his breath when his ward realized how ambiguous his previous response was. “Y-yes… a-another blanket would be nice...” He mumbled back shyly. Dream smiled and swiftly turned around, walking over to the closet and opening it, rooting through the different shirts and pants that were strewn about inside from his earlier -ahem-, ‘fit’, finally finding a blanket buried beneath. He smiled victoriously and swiftly turned back around, crossing the room with big, purposeful strides before unraveling and placing the blanket on top of Nightmare’s prone form. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The smaller guardian made a pleased noise, curling up as much as his battered body would allow. “Thank...you...” Nightmare mumbled sleepily, eyes slowly sliding shut as he basked in the newfound warmth. Dream simply smiled softly, giving a hushed reply of, “Sweet dreams.”, back to the smaller monster, golden eye lights glowing faintly with a soft fondness for the younger sibling. He stared at his brother lovingly for a few moments more before shifting, slowly lowering himself to sit on the ground by the bed and bracing his back against the cool wooden frame.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The skeleton smiled to himself, listening to the long, soft breaths coming from his sleeping ward. Now that he was sleeping, Dream could let his mind wander back over the events that had unfolded in the past 4 hours.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The skeleton gripped the cloth of his pants, gritting his teeth in anger as he remembered the state he’d found his brother in; clothes were torn and strewn about; blood and marrow dripping from numerous wounds inflicted on his bones; shaking in terror and from the strength of his sobs. He remembered how desperately Nightmare had called his name when he saw him, the joy and relief that twined around the shaky syllables, formed and spoken with a broken voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>RIIIIIP!!</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dream jerked in surprise at the sudden sound, eyes snapping down to the source of the noise; his pants. His hands had managed to tear through the fabric with how hard he’d been gripping it. He loosened his hold, allowing the wrinkled scraps of cloth to drift to the floor silently, his golden eye lights trained on them the whole way down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guardian shook his head, pushing the anger that had begun to steadily resurface to the back-burner before turning his eyes to look at the sleeping skeleton. Seeing him so relaxed, resting comfortably and safe is what fully calmed Dream back down, tension bleeding out of his bones as he turned back around. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sighed softly and let his head fall back, thumping it into the soft mattress. “Sleep well, brother...” Dream murmured before sitting back up, closing his eyes and carefully extending his magic, letting it wrap around Nightmare in a comforting embrace. Call it a safety measure, so that Nightmare wouldn’t have any, well, nightmares. With that done, Dream drew his magic in, condensing it into a round shape, before letting it go in a pulse of energy that moved through the house in small waves, using his magic like bats use echolocation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’d been a long time since he’d done this, since he’d felt the need to sound out their house for any other soul signatures, but he firmly believed that the occasion called for it. His gold magic flowed through the walls through every room, every nook and cranny of the house, and even extended past the borders of the house, hitting the trunks of the surrounding trees before the magic rebounded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dream closed his eyes as the waves of magic returned to him, filling his head with still-images of the empty, torn-up rooms and the surrounding woods. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when he found no soul signatures near them, allowing himself to relax after setting up a basic barrier spell around their house. He leaned back once more, resting his back against the wooden bedframe, careful not to make any noise lest he wake Nightmare. The guardian let a small smile cross his face as the small guardian shifted slightly, settling down quickly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d be okay, Dream knew he would. The smaller skeleton was strong, despite what others may think. He settled down, ready for the long night of vigilance ahead of him.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Not an update</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>HHHHHHH</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I am,, very sorry for not updating in well over almost two months.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I think this is going to be staying on a mini hiatus bc I lost the motivation to work on it.</p>
<p>I'll be picking back up and probably posting a new chapter on the 12th. Also one of my friends gave me another idea to write on yesterday and I want to post some of that soooooo y e a h I'm sorry</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'll try to update when I can, but seeing as I have no update schedule and my friends are on at random times, some chapters may be published unedited.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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